1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved lighting system for boats and more particularly to lighting systems on a boat for warning other boats in the vicinity.
2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97-1.99
The increasing popularity of boating has created a substantial need for improved safety feature and warning light systems for boats. This is especially important for people who use their boats during twilight and nighttime hours or are on the lakes and oceans during windy or poor weather conditions and especially for fishermen who often fish from boats which are substantially stationary in the water.
Conventional light assemblies are well known in the prior art for boats, such as lights for illuminating the area of the bow and forward of the bow for docking and lights that indicate their position in the water such as traditional port (red) and starboard (green) lights typically located at the bow of the boat. The color of the red lights located on the port side of the boat and the color of the green lights located on the starboard side of the boat are required or established for safety reasons by appropriate laws and regulations affecting watercraft and the safe operation thereof.
In most boats, the port and starboard lights are arranged at the break of the bow. However, these starboard and port bow lights suffer the disadvantage that, due to their height, such starboard and port bow lights have a much lower visibility when the boat moves over and through rough waters. This lower visibility creates a safety problem in that such assemblies are not easily seen by other boats in the vicinity. This safety problem becomes even more acute with more modern low slung hulls. These conditions are further compounded at night when it is important for boaters to be able to see other boats at a great distance as possible to avoid collisions.
Moreover, if the port and starboard lights are placed along the sides of the boat above the hull for better visibility, the docking lights must be separated from the port and starboard lights to prevent the blending of the port and starboard lights with the docking light when attempting to view them at great distances. Thus, smaller boats are not presently equipped with docking lights and starboard and port lights due to the logistics of putting docking lights with the starboard and port lights.
In U.S. Pat. No. 328,069 issued to Parry teaches auxiliary moveable or independent signal-lights arranged upon the boat with respect to the regular port and starboard lights required by law in which they are secured above the hull and exposed to view from the sides as the boat swings around one or more points, and remain in view until the boat has turned, thereby indicating to an observer on another boat the relative direction of movement or course of the other. However, this patent teaches that the port and starboard lights must be the same color as the auxiliary lights to prevent their blending at great distances.
In an attempt to solve both the safety and transportation problems commonly associated with having port and starboard lights only at the bow is to extend these lights above the hull on the respective sides of the boat. However, if the boat has docking lights, as relatively large boats do, dangerous blending of the port and starboard lights with the docking lights will occur if used at the same time.
Even further warning lighting assemblies for the stern of the boat are known which include long poles or rods which are mounted to the stern of the boat at an appropriate location. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,452 issued to Pingel et al. The length of such poles or rods are usually required or established for safety reasons by appropriate laws and regulations affecting watercraft and the safe operation thereof. One of the main problems with attaching warning stern lights only to the upper portion of relatively long support assemblies is that these warning stern lights do not indicate if the boat is in a stationary position or heading backwards. This is particularly worrisome for fishermen who must "idle" their boats in the water. These conditions are compounded at night when it is important for boaters to be able to see other boats and to determine if the boats are "idled", travelling forward or travelling backwards.